Kemnay

Academy

October 2017

Dear Parent, Carer or Colleague Welcome to our first Newsletter for information session was supported by the Academic session 2016-2017. Welcome is Senior Leadership Team. extended particularly to parents and carers Our Parent Council continues to support of new S1 pupils. I hope that this regular the Academy in its work and aims to newsletter gives you an insight into the life promote more effective engagement by and work of academy. parents in the work of the Academy. Reports on its work will be included in each At the end of the summer holidays, our newsletter and on our website. The next Senior pupils received their certificates from meeting is 30th October. the SQA (Scottish Qualification Authority). Each of them deserves congratulations for Term 2 usually brings with it the first his/her success. This year saw a episodes of adverse weather of the winter. significant success in the number of young It is vital that parents, carers and pupils people achieve N5 awards and higher have spoken together about arrangements awards. This success is due to the and what to do in the event of disruption. commitment and hard work from both It is very important that pupils travelling by pupils and staff. bus only travel on the bus to which they are assigned and carry their passes. Please 58% of S4 pupils this session achieved 5 also discuss with your son/daughter how or more National Qualifications at Nat 5. they will use Glow or other resources to This is a considerable achievement. Other maintain their studies in the event of not curriculum changes have included SQA being able to get to the Academy and revisions to Nat 5courses. A letter was check that they have their log-in details at issued regarding the changes and a parent home. Mrs L Paul, Rector

Reminder: SchoolClosureWebsite: www..gov.uk/closures/ Telephone Information Line: 0870 054 4999 PIN: 021070 The School uses a variety of means to communicate with parents and carers. Where we can we will text information to advise and update parents. Please also use our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Kemnay-Academy The school website details are: http://kemnayacademy.aberdeenshire.sch.uk/

IN THIS ISSUE:

Pg. 1: Welcome from Rector

Pg. 2: Our School Vision

Pg. 3: Staffing Changes Introduction from Mr Wright

Pg. 4: Communication with Parents Lunchtime Uniform Literacy Support

Pg. 5: Senior Pupil Leadership Team

Pg. 6: School Captains OUR SCHOOL VISION Pg. 7: Extra Curricular Activities

Values, Vision and Aims Pg. 9: Wellbeing Assemblies Celebrating Success aims to ensure the highest quality learning experience for all. Pg. 10: Pupils Participation Forum Mock Trials Our vision is to promote and celebrate the following:

Pg. 11: MacMillan Coffee Morning Excellence and Aspiration Live n Learn We have high expectations that every learner will Pg. 12: Guide Dogs aspire to be the “best you can be” at Kemnay Duke of Edinburgh Award Academy. Our school supports all learners in personalising an appropriate and ambitious Pg. 13: Interhouse Sports Advanced Higher Physics curriculum to allow every young person to develop

and achieve.

Pg. 14: Internet Safety Day

Pg. 15: Maths Week Responsibility and Respect As a school we promote both responsible citizenship Pg. 16: Developing ’s Young within school and across our wider community. We Workforce are clear about our responsibilities as Kemnay Pg. 19: PE Department News Academy citizens. All our pupils are encouraged to support an outward looking culture. We aim to Pg. 21: Peer Mentors cultivate a mutual culture of respect, social justice YPI and equality and reflect this in all our actions. At Pg. 22: S6 Leadership Kemnay Academy we encourage learning for a sustainable world. We are inclusive and respect the Pg. 23: S6 UCAS differences of others.

Pg. 24: Global Goals

Christmas Fayre Success and Determination

Pg. 26: Term Dates Success is achievable with hard work, commitment and determination. Throughout the learner Pg. 27: Recycle old Study Books journey, pupils at Kemnay Academy are developing resilience. We value achievement and celebrate it. Pg. 28: Facebook Page As a school community we recognise and acknowledge success across all our curriculum areas and throughout the wider life of the school.

Updates

Staffing Changes:

Thanks to all staff for their hard work and commitment this session

The school welcomes a number of new staff: -

Mr Ian Wright to post of Depute Head Teacher.

Ms Nicola Tannar will be starting with us in November as our new Faculty Head of Technologies.

We have successfully recruited the following staff to a range of different posts here in the Academy.

Lorena Bechelli – English Gillian Anderson – PE Nicola Hardingham – Maths Robbie Patterson - PE Hannah Williamson – Art & Design Ross Brown – Mod Studies Rachel Bennett - HE Sally Mennie – Business & ICT Lizzie Turner - Maths Hazel Allan – PSA Judith Farquhar – Technician Jenny Reid – PSA

Although there continues to be vacancies in a few subjects these are advertised and solutions regarding the vacancies are always sought. The school waved “bon voyage” to Mr Craig Watson. Mr Watson has left the Academy to move with his family to Australia. Mrs D Mills, teacher of Modern Foreign Languages has also left Kemnay Academy.

An Introduction to Ian Wright (Depute Rector) I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you. I have lived in the area for the majority of my life, schooling in Westhill. My wife is also in teaching; working at as a Home Economics Teacher. Outside of my working life I enjoy watching and playing a range of sports, watching films or box sets, walking my dog Bailey and I am also a fan of new technologies. Previously I have worked at and then as a Teacher of Mathematics. I then moved on to Ellon Academy as Faculty Head of Mathematics/ Numeracy and more recently in session 2016-2017 I was Acting Depute Rector. My remit included SQA; Learning, Teaching & Assessment and Tracking, Monitoring & Reporting. I am very proud and excited to have started here at Kemnay Academy as Depute Rector. My current remit areas include SQA Coordinator; Learning, Teaching & Assessment and Digital Learning Strategy. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first term here working with staff, parents and the pupils of Kemnay Academy. I have been made to feel very welcome and I am impressed with the school and the direction it is headed. The attainment last session was excellent and this is something that we can build upon, ensuring the best possible outcomes and life opportunities for all our young people.

Communication for Parents Aberdeenshire council has changed the way parents receive online alerts about school closures and changes to school transport. You can now sign up for these notifications through myaccount on the Aberdeenshire Council website – if you currently pay for school meals online, you will already be registered. myaccount is a simple, secure way of accessing a range of Scottish public services using just one username and password and 13,000 parents across Aberdeenshire are already enjoying the benefits of it. As well as being able to sign up for alerts, your home page will automatically give you handy information such as your bin collection days, where your nearest recycling centre is and the names of your local councillors.

Lunchtime The return in August presents a challenge for the local community here in Kemnay. Local businesses are supported by young people who choose to go off site for lunch and this in turn brings more litter. Where pupils are off site they are unsupervised and responsible for their own behaviour. A code of conduct for pupils is set out below. • Respect our Environment. • Place litter in rubbish bins. • Stay safe Pupils are discouraged from going to the zip slide and playpark adjacent to Alehousewells school. All our pupils are encouraged to respect the local community and reminded of this at our assemblies and through the school daily news bulletin.

School uniform The school is looking to engage parents in a discussion regarding school uniform. This “conversation” will be held over the next few months in a bid to gather your opinion.

In recent months we have encouraged all our pupils to wear full school uniform. The impact of this has been considerable improvement in uniform in all year groups. To comment on school uniform please email [email protected]

Literacy Support

Read Write Gold software is widely available in Kemnay Academy. The software includes several functions that are of use to pupils of all ages and abilities – including research tools, referencing tools, mind mapping software, a thesaurus, advanced dictionary & spell checker as well as an excellent e-reader. We are able to provide a free copy of this software (PC version) to any pupil at Kemnay Academy to support them with their studies at home (on request).

Keen to see what this software should offer and how it may benefit your son or daughter? We will be running info sessions throughout the school year to showcase the many useful functions and give parents the opportunity to see for themselves what a difference this software can make to the learning experience of all pupils. If you are interested in attending one of these sessions, would like a copy of the software or require any further information please contact Mr Millar, PT ASN, at the school ([email protected])

Senior Pupil Leadership Team As the new term started back in August it was with great pleasure that we were able to announce the new Senior Pupil Leadership Team for the 2017-2018 school session. The School Captain team is headed up by Amy Emslie and Matthew Dailey, with Sasha Ratnayeke, Ronan Swanson, Erin Jones and Caitlin Gray taking on the roles of Depute School Captains. Already this term the team have been very busy, helping out with events within the school such as the Pupils Photo sessions, the School Tours and the upcoming S1 Parents’ Evening. They have also prepared and delivered their first School Captains Assembly on Anti-Bullying which was a great success. They are a very enthusiastic and proactive team who are keen to ensure they make their mark at Kemnay Academy and have made a very impressive start to their duties.

The House Captain team is made up of two pupils for each House Group. For House we have Hannah Barclay and Amy Prentice, for House, Lewis McDonald and Georgia Sharp, for Don House the positions went to Jai Dasgupta and Chloe Milne and for Tuach House to Joe Reid and Ailie Keddie. The House Captains have already been busy putting together teams for the Inter- House competitions that have taken place this term and they will be involved in their first House Assembly during the last week of term. Another important role that they have is to head up the Prefect teams, ensuring that the rotas are in place and that each of their Prefects turn up to deliver their duty. Following an initial training session at the start of the session our school Prefects have been working hard to ensure the good order of the canteen and social areas during interval and lunch time and they have been on hand to offer help and advice to any pupil who needs it. We have 75 Prefects in total this session and we are very grateful for the valuable contribution they make. Both our Prefects and our House Captains have made a great start to their roles and we wish them all well as they continue to compete to get their House group to the top of the House Points board.

The Peer Support Captain team is a new team this year and these positions have been taken on by Fiona Sweeney, Amy Stewart, Katie Paterson, Alice Hepburn, Abigail Paterson and Beth Thomson. The group have met a few times already this term to establish what they want to try and achieve this session and how they can ensure they are offering a sustainable approach to peer support within the school. The initiative they are putting together is very much being kept under wraps at the moment but they will be looking to launch during term two with further information to follow for pupil’s staff and parents. So, watch this space!

An Introduction to our School Captains Hello, we are Matthew Dailey and Amy Emslie and we are Head Boy and Head Girl at Kemnay Academy for session 2017/18. We are very excited to be making a start in our new roles and we hope you will notice the difference we make both in Kemnay Academy and the wider community.

I [Amy] have really enjoyed my five years at Kemnay Academy and I am glad I’ve now got the opportunity to have an impact on our school and its young people. At school, I have always enjoyed Mathematics and Physics and I hope to study these at University when I leave school next year. Outside of school, I enjoy exercising and I am currently working towards running the 2018 Edinburgh Half-Marathon, in aid of MacMillan Cancer Support.

I [Matthew] have had a great and thoroughly enjoyable experience over the past five years at Kemnay Academy. I am thrilled to have this chance to make a difference and give back to the young people of our school. Like Amy, I have a passion for Mathematics and Physics and I hope to study Mathematics at University. Outside of school, I have a great interest in golf, competing in Scottish Championship Events. I also enjoy running in my spare time.

We have a great team of Vice School Captains – Caitlin Gray, Erin Jones, Ronan Swanson and Sasha Ratnayeke – who you will all get to know more as the year goes by.

Our first project has been focused on Anti-bullying. We carried out a fun and interactive presentation with all year groups and strengthened this knowledge through a series of activities and class discussions within register classes. We hope that our fellow pupils enjoyed and learned from this work.

Kemnay Academy Extra-Curricular Activities Here at Kemnay Academy we have a whole range of different clubs and activities on offer during lunch time and after school to allow our pupils to get involved and feel included beyond the classroom door. These provide an excellent opportunity for our pupils to get to know new people, develop different skills, and indulge their interests and passions whilst perhaps pursuing something new. We would encourage every student to consider getting actively involved in our programme of activities which includes a number of sporting activities which are good for health and fitness as well as social skills and teamwork, Pupil Council which allows our pupils to take on a position of responsibility and add to the pupil voice within the school, and a variety of music and languages opportunities which allow pupils to develop their skills further. Some of our activities are being supervised by our Sports Leaders who are being trained in partnership with Active Schools and the PE department and we currently have around 300 pupils registered with at least one club. For the full list, which spans ever day of the week, please see the school website. If any pupil has any suggestions for further clubs they would like to see set up, please see Miss Arthur in the first instance.

Monday Club Year Group Time Location Staff Member Strength and S2 – 6 Boys 1310 - 1340 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Conditioning Schools) Badminton S1 – 6 1310 - 1340 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) LGBTQ Group S1 – S6 1315 – 13.50 Rm 110 Ms Donaldson Mr Brown Science Study S1 – 3 1315 - 1345 Rm 205 Support Chemistry Study S3 – 6 1315 - 1345 Rm 207 Support Italian Class S1 – 6 1320 – 1350 Rm 112 Mrs Bleasdale French & German S4 – 6 1320 – 1350 Rm 115 Mrs Gafney Drop In S1 Drop In S1 Lunchtime CLD Rm Mrs Smith Football S1 – 2 Boys 1530 - 1630 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) Girls’ Fitness S4 – 6 Girls 1530 - 1630 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) Image Hip Hop S1 – 6 1830 - 2000 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) Tuesday Club Year Group Time Location Staff Member Jazz Band Mixed 1320 Music 1 Mrs Cormack Chess Club S4 – 6 Lunchtime Library ICT Rm Mr Gibson Farming & S1 – 6 1315 - 1345 Rm 206 Mrs Countryside Group Environmental S4 – 6 1315 - 1345 Rm 205 Science Study Support Transition Drop In S1 1255 – 1355 (until Hut 304 Community October hols) Learning Staff Table Tennis S1 – 6 1310 - 1340 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) Football S4 – 6 Boys 1310 - 1340 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) Girls’ Fitness S1 – 3 Girls 1310 - 1340 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) Mock Trials S3 – 6 1320 (till October) Rm 307 Ms Washington Rock Challenge – S2 - 6 1530 - 1630 Mrs Salvona Costumes and Set Mrs White Netball S3 – 6 1530 - 1700 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools)

Wednesday Club Year Group Time Location Staff Member Ceilidh Band Mixed 1320 Music 2 Mrs Cormack Brass Ensemble Mixed 1320 Music 1 Mrs Cormack Ornithology S1 - 6 1320 Rm 101 Mrs Findlayson Ms Bechelli Volleyball S1 – 6 1310 - 1340 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) French & German S1 – 3 1320 - 1350 Rm 113 Mrs Mowat Drop- In/Homework Club Directors Group S1 – 6 Lunchtime Design 2 Ms Williamson (Animation) Concert Band Mixed 1515 Music 1 Mrs Cormack Basketball S1 – 6 1530 - 1630 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) Hockey S1 – 6 1530 - 1630 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) Golf S1 – 6 After School PE Dept. PE Dept. Girls’ Football S1 – 6 Girls 1530 - 1630 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools)

Thursday Club Year Group Time Location Staff Member Girls’ Group Mixed Lunchtime ASFL Mrs Marsh Senior Choir S3 – 6 1320 Music 1 Mrs Cormack Chess Club S1 – 3 Lunchtime Library ICT Room Mr Gibson Senior Free Time S4 – 6 1310 – 1340 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) Cross Country S1 – 3 1310 – 1340 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) Physics Study S3 – 6 1315 - 1345 Rm 201 Support Senior Drop In S2 – 6 Lunchtime CLD Rm Mrs Smith Rock Challenge - S2 – 6 1530 - 1630 Mrs Salvage Dancing Mrs White Netball S1 – 2 1530 – 1700 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) Rugby S1 – 6 1530 - 1630 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools)

Friday Club Year Group Time Location Staff Member Interact Club S1 & 2 1300 ASFL1 Mr Millar Kemnay Cakes & Mixed 1315 HE 1 Mrs Bennett Bakes Biology Study S3 – 6 1315 - 1345 Rm 208 Support 1:1 French & S4 – 6 (Sign up 1320 - 1350 Rm 115 Mrs Gafney German required) Duke of Edinburgh S4 1515 (fortnightly) Rm 214 Dr Jefferies Senior Free Time S4 – 6 1310 - 1340 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools) Football S3 Boys 1310 - 1340 PE Dept. Ms Coutts (Active Schools)

Highlights from Term 1

Wellbeing Assemblies As many of you will be aware each morning at Kemnay Academy starts with a year group assembly, with the switch over to a House Group assembly once every term. These assemblies are designed to allow pupils to engage directly with members of staff around the school and in particular with members of the Senior Leadership Team who host each assembly. They allow staff and pupil groups the opportunity to share with the pupils’ initiatives and programmes of work that are being carried out across the school, and for us to remind the pupils of some of the important messages we want to promote as a school as we furnish them with opportunities to get involved in a range of activities to promote their overall growth and development as individuals.

This term we have had a number of different speakers involved in our wellbeing assembly schedule. We started the term with a warm welcome back from Mrs Paul, and we followed this up with some introductions to our Senior Pupil Leadership Team and to our Chaplaincy team. Over the weeks we have enjoyed presentations from some of our pupil groups including the S1/2 Rotary Interact Group, the S6 Leadership groups, and the Rock Challenge Team, all of whom actively sought to engage our pupils in the various opportunities they are to be presenting over the course of the session. Miss Arthur led a week of assemblies which focused on how we all work together to ‘Get it Right’ for every pupil in Kemnay Academy which included a focus on Child Protection and a reminder of the support networks that are in place in school for our pupils. Mrs Paul headed up an assembly which focused on the school’s values with a particular focus on aspiration and determination, which encouraged our pupils to think about what mattered to them, what they wanted to aim for and achieve during their time in school and the importance of hard work and resilience as they strive to be the best version of themselves that they can be.

Our School Captain team put together a week-long programme to mark our Kemnay Academy Anti-Bullying Week. This included a daily programme of activities to be completed in Registration classes to encourage pupils to consider the different types of bullying, the repercussions of acts of bullying, the role they can play in preventing this type of behaviour, and the importance of standing up to bullies and supporting our friends to speak up and seek help if they are experiencing difficulties with their peers. They also delivered an excellent assembly which really highlighted to pupils the impact of bullying and the need to think about the way we treat others, and some very powerful messages about ‘not letting the bullies get you down’, the importance of talking to someone if things are getting to you, and the importance of being yourself and being proud of it. This week will see our first House Assemblies for the session as our House Captains look to round off the term.

Celebrating Success and Achievement at Kemnay Academy At Kemnay Academy we are very proud of our young people and we are always keen to congratulate and celebrate their achievements both in and out of school. Throughout our PSE curriculum pupils are actively encouraged to share with their Guidance teachers their accomplishments, and they have the opportunity to record this information in their Pupil Profile along with examples of their latest and best achievements in each of their curricular areas. In addition to this, we like to highlight achievements throughout the session via our ‘Kemnay in the News’ noticeboards in reception and our sporting ‘Wall of Fame’ within the PE department. Some of our additions this session have been that of Abigail Topp in S5 and her highly impressive achievements in the world of Rowing. Abigail was a Silver medallist in the British Junior Championships and also took team GB to victory against France in their annual competition. Daisy Waddington in S1 has been recognised for her success in the Blackburn Bake Off Competition where she has won the title for two years in a row. Lucy Crow in S3 successfully raised £540 for Cash for Kids via the Northsound’s 500 faces competition by climbing Lochnagar. Taylor Munro in S3 participated in the Inspiring Purpose competition. Her entry went all the way to the final and her saw her article published in the National Inspiring Purpose Magazine. We had a group of students in both S2 and S6 who received the Anne Frank award, namely, Christine Meyer, Katie Doig, Sasha Ratnayeke, Fiona Sweeney, Amy Emslie and Beth Elkin. Amy Smith in S1 achieved gold medals in both the Scottish and British Double Mini Trampolining competitions.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind pupils and parents/carers that we want to know about the successes and achievements in the lives of our students so that we can all join together to congratulate them on their endeavours and to encourage all of our young people to be proud of their achievements and to be the best that they can be. Next term we are going to be working on a mechanism which will make sharing this information with us even easier and information on this will follow to both pupils and parents/carers. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us via the school email address to let us know of any achievements so that we can look to celebrate them here in school as well. Well done to all of our pupils who have appeared this term and also to all those pupils who have kept their achievements to themselves, or who prefer to be the unsung heroes in their fields! You should all be very proud of yourselves!

Pupil Participation Forum We appointed our Pupil Participation Forum pupils: Joseph Reid, Sasha Brydon, Katelyn Power and Lewis Mackland. They represent the views of pupils at Kemnay Academy on the Aberdeenshire forum for secondary schools. They view current matters that affect young people which is fed back to the council. The Forum are currently planning for the shire Youth Volunteer Awards which is being held at Thainstone House on 24th November. Voting is now open. Please see the DYW Facebook page for details or pick up a leaflet from the school reception.

Aberdeenshire Mock Trials Competition Kemnay Academy will be once again entering a team for the Aberdeenshire Mock Trials Competition, which will take place on Saturday 7th October in Aberdeen Sheriff Court. Kemnay Academy have a long and proud tradition in the Mock Trials Competition and all the pupils have been working really hard this term in preparation for the event. The Mock Trials Competition is a wonderful opportunity for pupils to learn more about the legal system in Scotland and about potential career ideas in Law. It also enables the pupils to develop their skills in literacy and public speaking, which will no doubt help boost their confidence. Furthermore, this is an exciting year for our team as we have welcomed many new team members, from Modern Studies and beyond. This includes new S3 pupils, who are working really well alongside our Senior Pupils in the team. It has been wonderful to see pupils from across the year groups S3-S6 pulling together and working to build such a strong team. The teachers involved in organising and running the team, Mrs Meynet and Mrs Washington are very proud of all the effort the pupils have put in and wish them every success in the competition.

S4 Prince’s Trust Achieve Group- MacMillan Coffee Morning The staff Macmillan Coffee Morning on Friday 29th of September was a huge success. The S4 pupils from the Prince’s Trust Achieve group hosted the event again this year and, along with the generous contributions from school staff, provided a wonderful (and delicious) spread of cakes and other goodies.

The group collected in over £430 of donations which will go to Macmillan Cancer Support which we think you’ll agree is a fantastic total and the pupils are delighted with the support they’ve had from the school.

Thank you so much to all staff for their amazing support; the pupils could not have done it without you and a massive well done to Dana Sim, Scott Shepherd, Shannon Hepburn and Kieran Stephen for all their hard work in organising the event along with Declan Barker and Neil Ross for helping set up on the day. Here’s looking forward to next year’s coffee morning!

Mrs Clark & Mrs Marsh Achieve advisors

Live n Learn Workshop

For the third year in a row Live-N-Learn delivered a motivational study skills workshop to our S4 pupils. The purpose of the workshop was to help raise aspirations & achievement with our young adults, as well as building confidence by encouraging students to take personal responsibility, to consider and foster a 'growth mindset' and to help develop their resilience. More information can be found on the following website. https://live-n-learn.co.uk/

Guide Dogs S1T had a visit from Rachel Anderson and her guide dog in training. Rachel explained her role and what she does to train the puppy. The puppy was very well behaved and was happy to be in the class with the pupils. The pupils were given work books and information on guide dogs. A huge thanks to Rachel for bringing the puppy in to show us. I am sure you will agree she is very cute!!

Duke of Edinburgh Award – Kemnay Autumn Term

We have 23 keen S4 students who have signed up for the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award, and we have about a dozen S5 students who will compete their award in the coming weeks. I’d like to thank the S5 teams for their hard work, and wish the new S4 group the very best of luck. We meet every two weeks or so after school, usually on a Friday to do training in a number of outdoor skills. When the training is complete, the students can then participate in the practice and actual expeditions. The cohorts are managed entirely by volunteers and there is no charge, but we are stretched to find enough qualified Leaders to manage the expeditions – we can always use folk who have hill walking experience! If you have the experience and would like to help, please let us know. Below is the S4 DofE timetable, and I would encourage the students to participate in all the sessions as non-attendance may prevent them from going on the expeditions.

Dr A Jefferies, Computing, DofE co-ordinator

Week Topic Date 1 Sign up, eDofE 7th September (Thursday lunchtime in school) 2 The basics: 15th September • Details of training and expedition • Expedition aims • Personal equipment required • Fitness 3 Safety 29th September • Identifying and avoiding hazards • Weather October holiday 16th -> 27th Oct 4 The Scottish Outdoor Access Code and leave no 3rd November trace 5 Practical map skills 17th November 6 Use of the compass 1st December 7 Map/compass consolidation 15th December Christmas holiday 25th -> 5th Jan 8 Route Planning2 12th January Prelims 18th Jan -> 26th Jan 9 emergency procedures 2nd February 10 Outdoor map day (Saturday) 17th February 11 First aid 23rd February 12 Food and cooking, use of stoves 2nd March 13 Camp craft, equipment and hygiene 16th March 14 Tents practice & Talk 23rd March Easter Holiday (Good Friday: 30th March) 2nd April -> 14th April Exams 30th April -> 4th June 15 Bronze Practice – Bennachie 1 9th/10th June 16 Bronze Practice – Bennachie 2 16th / 17th June 17 Bronze Expedition - Glen Muick 1 23rd / 24th June 18 Bronze Expedition - Glen Muick 2 29th / 30th June

Inter-House Sports Activities The Sports Ambassadors have started delivering their series of Inter-House Sports Competitions which have been hugely popular, particularly with S1 and S2. So far, the S1 football tournament was won by Don, the S2 tournament by Bennachie, the S1 volleyball tournament was won by Don and the S3 volleyball tournament by Bennachie. The S2 and S4-6 volleyball tournaments will be decided in the last week of term with badminton as the next planned competition after the holidays.

Advanced Higher Physics at Aberdeen University This term the Advanced Higher Physics class spent a day at the Physics department in Aberdeen University. The day started with a talk from one of the Physics lecturers at the university before time was spent practical lab sessions.

Matthew Dailey and Amy Emslie commented on the experience:

‘The day at the Physics department was very interesting and insightful. We were given a short lecture to begin with by one of the Physics lecturers at the university before carrying out University Style Physics experiments on polarisation and interference’.

‘It was great to have the opportunity to work in the University Physics labs using the scientific equipment only available at the university. The experiments we carried out on the day allowed us to gather data that we will be able to use in our Advanced Higher Physics projects.’

‘Thanks to the University of Aberdeen for making this experience available’. Mr MacKenzie

Internet Safety Day On Wednesday 4th October we welcomed Paul Hay to the school to support us with our ‘Internet Safety’ day. Paul is an expert in the field of internet safety and has delivered to schools the length and breadth of Scotland and England. Paul came very highly recommended by our colleagues across Aberdeenshire and he did not disappoint.

Throughout the school day he delivered a presentation to each year group within the school. Each session took a slightly different approach, ensuring it was geared to the current trends of young people within that age group. He covered everything from popular online resources, to ‘digital footprints’ and had a particular focus on how to keep yourself safe when online. Each session was very thought provoking, with pupils encouraged to think about their own actions online, and to think about the consequences of what they post on social media. All pupils were then encouraged to go home and look at their own privacy settings and to review their online content. The pupils told us they really enjoyed these sessions and it had really made the think about their involvement in the online world. In addition to the pupil sessions,

Paul also delivered two staff training sessions and a Parents’ Information Evening. These provided an excellent opportunity for specific questions to be raised and to remind everyone of the part they have to play in supporting our young people to keep themselves safe online. For any parents who may have missed this session, a copy of the presentation delivered can be found on the school website. This includes the web address for Paul’s homepage where he then has links to many other useful resources which parents/carers may find of interest.

Maths Department @ Kemnay Academy Celebrated Maths Week Scotland

As part of the Maths week Scotland, we welcomed a variety of STEM companies and organisations into the Maths Department. The aim of the event was for pupils to experience the benefits and beauty of Maths in new and exciting ways as well as raising the profile of Maths and its importance in all aspects of our lives.

Pupils for S1 to S4 participated in a number of hands on and informative workshops delivered by our engineers that visited. Pupils learned about the Maths involved in the various companies and the opportunities they have to use the skills that they are learning in their Maths classes. Some of the workshops that pupils were involved in allowed them to look at budgeting their wages as well as calculating employee wages, the Maths and accuracy involved in transporting freight around the world, the Maths involved in making different building components needed on boats and rigs offshore along many more interesting and inspiring workshops. Pupils found the workshops interesting and engaging with many of them asking excellent questions. As a department we have enjoyed being able to offer this opportunity to your children and we are looking forward to developing this partnership. Thank you to all the companies that took part in our Maths Week event and if you would like to get involved then please get in touch!

We also took part in Mangahigh Maths competition that took place across all of Scotland and came 25th overall. Well done to all the students who took part in the competition.

NORTH EAST Developing the Young KEMNAY ACADEMY DYW Workforce @

Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce (DYW) - UPDATES

It’s been a busy term for our DYW agenda as we move forward raising the profile of Skills for Learning, Life and Work within the school. We have our new noticeboard located beside the main office in the social area where all DYW news will be posted. We have also created some staff career profiles which outline the interesting journey some of our staff have taken on their route into teaching, which makes for very interesting reading indeed! I attended the DYW Market place launch where the DYW team have constructed a website for businesses and schools to find each other and request assistance with different projects. I have also been out and about in the community with our School Captains introducing myself and the team to our local businesses. It has gone really well with the businesses we have been round so far and we will be looking to go further afield next term. We are also in the early stages of developing a formal business link with one of our local businesses, which will be of mutual benefit to both organisations, allowing for further exciting opportunities all round. More information will follow on this in the next newsletter.

Career Ready We also have 5 pupils involved in the Career Ready programme. This is a two-year programme where pupils undertake 6 Master classes, do a four-week paid internship in the summer between years 1&2, and have a business mentor all the way through to oversee their work, keep the pupils focussed, teach them about the skills for life, learning and work and how these can be transferred between workplace, life and school. The pupils attend a formal graduation ceremony at the end of the two-year programme where they receive formal recognition and their graduation certificate.

The S6 Career Ready students, Eilidh Morrison, Carly Cairns and Kyle MacRitchie have undertaken Masterclass 4 reviewing their four-week Internship from the summer holidays looking at the skills they learned and their next steps. All pupils completed a presentation in their last week of their internship where they spoke about what they had done and learned in their time with the company.

We have recruited two new S5 Career Ready students, Dylan Cunningham and Niamh Milton. They attended the Career Ready launch on 5 October where they met their mentors and had a chance to do a few team tasks together. They have also attended Masterclass1 and are looking forward to getting underway in the programme.

S5 Mock Interview Scheme As the term drew to a close our S5 pupils have been busy participating in the Kemnay Academy Mock Interview Scheme. As part of our commitment to preparing our young people for the world of work, we felt it was important that our S5 pupils had the opportunity to engage in a mock interview experience. This aims to build on the skills and experience they gathered during their S3 Profiling interview back in 2015. In this programme the pupils were encouraged to prepare for an interview for a role as a customer service assistant. They had to think about the requirements of this role, and to gather together information on their skills, qualities and experience to date from across their school life and their personal lives, as they prepared to complete a 10-minute interview experience. We invited our parent body and our school partners to become involved in this programme as interviewers, and the support we received has been excellent. We welcomed a number of different people into the school to take their seats in our interview stations to allow pupils the opportunity to practice their interview skills with someone new, who would in turn would offer effective and constructive feedback at the end of each interview. For the pupils, this has proved an invaluable experience as many have been able to draw on the knowledge and experience of our interviewers, whilst building their confidence as they add to their portfolio of preparation for work activities. We would just like to take this opportunity once again to thank everyone who has been involved in making this scheme a success, and we look forward to welcoming new and returning interviewers when we launch our next set of interview experiences later on in the session.

GOALS Motivation Programme Last week saw 7 pupils successfully take part and complete the GOALS Motivation programme. The programme has been produced by the AWPR (Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route) project. They are keen to offer students an insight into the planning and management behind the AWPR project, taking into consideration the environment and the technology which is being used. Through this programme pupils were given the opportunity to develop their team building skills, help pupils to recognise their strengths and attributes, whilst building their confidence as they work on their employability skills. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed their week as they all learned a lot about themselves, were able to reduce any barriers to learning and raise their self-esteem. They were all presented with certificates and trophies at the end of the course.

Future Asset On Friday 22 September, four S5 girls travelled to Edinburgh with Mrs Stage to attend FUTURE AS5ET. This was a one-day conference for S5 girls across Scotland, aimed at underlining the fact that gender should never be seen as a barrier to progressing in whatever career you choose. The event had over 500 young women attend and was set up as a proper conference allowing the pupils to experience key note speeches, Q&A sessions and workshops in a formal setting.

The event opened with some very inspirational speeches from Chelsea Cameron, Young Scot of the Year 2017; Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the CEO of Virgin Money and Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister, Scottish Government. The rest of the event was just as positive with the girls finding out about various jobs within the finance sector, a chance to speed network with a variety of successful business women and a final motivational speech from Ross Jennings, The First Piper who has overcome diversity in his challenge to be the first piper to pipe in every country of the world.

The event has opened the world of work up to these young women and through sharing of their day to their peers it will help every young woman at Kemnay Academy believe that if they want it, they can do it.

My World of Work Ambassadors We are currently offering a leadership opportunity for the S2’s and are in the process of recruiting My World of Work Ambassadors. There has been a positive uptake on this and we are looking at a team of about 12 pupils so far. These pupils will become experts on the My World of Work website and will be looking to introduce this across the school teaching all stages of pupils across the school how to see the site and get the most out of it in planning for their futures. The pupils will receive training on this and will be expected to run workshop sessions with pupils and staff. The pupils recruited are enthusiastic about this project and looking forward to their training. Information can be found here: https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/ambassadors

Session 2017-18 Work Experience

Work Experience is a valuable opportunity for all our Senior Students. There are two Work Experiences weeks in the school’s annual calendar. The November experience is targeted at S5/6 students as it will not interfere with the prelims. The January placement targets S4 students. This year, I am delighted to say, we have record numbers of Senior Students applying for experience. In November 75 students will go out on placement across the city and shire and in January 85 students take their first steps into the workplace. I am sure they will all have a very positive experience. If you wish to check which experience your child has been successfully placed in please log in using your child’s unique username and password on the Workit database. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents/carers for supporting their child in getting their placements booked and the consent forms returned by the deadlines.

Ms Murray-Smith Principal Teacher Guidance Work placement Coordinator

Kemnay Academy Careers Fair - Date for your Diary

Kemnay Academy will be holding a Careers Fair on Wednesday 15th November in school from 6-8pm. Please come along as we will have a number of different businesses, apprenticeship schemes, colleges and universities. So please come along and talk to the exhibitors and find out more about the different types of employment/courses which are available. It’s open for Primary 7 up to Secondary 6 so please come along and see the fantastic opportunities that are out there.

Mrs Pamela Webster, PT Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce

SASSA Kemnay Academy were involved in the South Aberdeenshire Schools Sports Association where we had over seventy pupils competing in 8 events. It was a great day out and Kemnay achieved their best overall performance by finishing 2nd out of eight schools and missed out on winning by one point. The girls team retained their title, only conceding one goal in the process and scored the winning goal in the final with the last kick of the game. The table tennis also came out on top with Matthew Paterson going unbeaten and Daniel Walters only defeat came at the hands of Matthew, and four other strong performances from Harrison Bratton, Findlay Smith, Kyle Brown and Tyla Moir. Basketball finished in 2nd place which was a great achievement and we entered a hockey team for the first time and they finished in a respectable 6th. Well done to all the pupils who took part and to our senior for all the help they provided.

Aberdeen Sports Village Experience Pupils undertaking a level 5 or 6 NQ travelled to Aberdeen Sports Village on Thursday 5th October for their Performance Assessments in 800m or 1500m. Pupils have been training hard in the previous 6 weeks and many were rewarded with PBs as a result. The final medal positions were as follows: 800m girls Gold – Millie Chapman, Silver – Leyna Reid, Bronze – Emily Elphinstone; 800m boys Gold – Grant Oldham, Silver – Kerr Innes, Bronze – Jay Beattie; 1500m girls Gold – Ruth Caney, Silver – Alanna MacLeod, Bronze – Beth Thomson; 1500m boys Gold – Matthew Dailey, Silver – Arran Walters, Bronze – Jamie O’Connor.

Kemnay Academy Netball Kemnay Academy Netball Club has around 70 players this year and we currently have 4 teams entered into the Aberdeenshire Schools League; have played matches against Alford, Meldrum and with mixed results! We are due to play and in the next few weeks and players are becoming more confident with each game – players have been a credit to the Academy in their conduct and sporting behaviour and are enjoying the new element of competition and the opportunity to represent their school. S1 players are not involved in the league but are due to play friendly matches against Bucksburn and Alford after the October holidays as preparation for the S1 festival in 2018. The netball club is currently looking for business sponsorship to purchase kit which is badly needed as we currently have only one senior set.

Kemnay Academy Football Kemnay have started the school year with some very good football results. The S1 team have been entered into the league and cup and have made a winning start in both (12-1 v Meldrum and 8-0 v respectively). We have high hopes for this team who have shown great ability and enthusiasm for school football. The S2 team won their North-East first round tie against the International School of Aberdeen 6-0 with several players making their competitive debut for the team. A home draw vs Peterhead is the reward for their efforts and that will be played early November. The S3 Kicked off their cup campaign with a comfortable 6-0 win over Meldrum. They now face a tricky away tie to Ellon for a place in the semi-final, this game will be played on the 6th November. We had 6 players who attended the Aberdeenshire Select trials with all of them making a very positive impact. Three players made their respective teams Jack McKenzie, Ben Anderson (U-15s) and Craig Robb (U-18s). This is the first time that Kemnay have had representatives at the U15 level and that reflects on the improvements we have seen in recent years.

Kemnay Academy Rugby The Schools rugby team have this year entered for the first time the Tier 4 Mitsubishi Conference. The aim of the conference fixtures is to get more pupils playing rugby more often with games at S1/2 and under 16's level on the same day. There has been a large increase this year in the number of pupils playing and in the first conference fixture Kemnay played Turriff at Banff RFC. Unfortunately, Banff were unable to field a under 16's side. With a number of debuts in the S1/2 team and over 8 players playing their first ever game of rugby Kemnay had a very hard task in trying to beat a good Turriff side. After a very close game which swung back and forth Kemnay came out on top securing a win with a bonus point for scoring four tries or more. In the second conference match Kemnay were again on their travels this time to Ellon. Kemnay were dominant in the S1/2 fixture securing a bonus point and playing some excellent rugby as well. It was roles reversed in the under 16's match though with Ellon playing some lovely attacking rugby and utilising the space on the pitch and showing some deft hands with excellent offloads. Ellon won with a bonus point in the under 16's fixture but a special mention goes to Tristyn Clark who scored the try of the match collecting the ball on his own try line and going the length of the field to dot down under the posts. Kemnay's third conference fixture is at home on Tuesday 10th Oct to Cults at S1/2 and under 16's level and the under 15's side have drawn The Nicholson Institute from Stornoway at Home after the October holidays in the North of Scotland cup. The boys have made an excellent start to the year and hopefully will continue to play good attacking rugby as we move into winter. Well done to all

I Can Lead I Can Lead is a sports leadership opportunity open to pupils aged 13 years or over. It provides an introduction to leadership that will give learners the knowledge and skills to assist in leading basic sports/activity sessions under direct supervision. The course is fun and practical with a focus on personal development and not just sporting ability. On completion of the course learners will gain an award that will be recognised on their CV. Following the two days of guided learning, pupils will get the opportunity to gain awards and qualifications in a wide variety of sports to enhance their sports leadership skills, abilities and knowledge. The course will be taking place during the in-service days in November, 13th and 14th, from 10am-4pm at Alford Community Campus (transport may be provided).

For a further information sheet and/or an application form to be considered to be part of the course, please see Lynsey, Active Schools Coordinator, in PE as soon as possible.

Peer Mentors This year we have 47 pupils participating in our Peer Mentors Programme across S5 and S6. This programme allows our students to further develop their skills in communication, leadership and teamwork as they work with our staff to offer additional help and support to their fellow pupils. This term each of our Peer Mentors have decided to devote their time to supporting junior classes within departments across the school. This allows then to share their expertise in subject areas, as they work one: one or with small groups of pupils supporting the class teacher to deliver the curriculum. Each term their role is reviewed and they have the choice to continue on with the subject area they are currently in, to swap to a different department within the school, to take on their duty during the lunch hour and support some of our smaller groups of pupils around the school or to offer support within the Support for Learning Department. This means that over the course of the session the Peer Mentors have the opportunity to develop a wide range of skills whilst having a significant impact on areas all across the school curriculum in its widest sense. Each of our Peer Mentors are completing a termly log book which will be collated at the end of term three and the pupils will then be put forward to receive a Saltire Award, which will officially be recognised in our end of session Awards Ceremony. This programme is a very valuable part of our senior curriculum and we wish all our Peer Mentors well with their endeavours this session.

S5 PSE – Youth Philanthropy Initiative Pupils in S5 are currently completing the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) which is an active citizenship programme that raises awareness amongst young people about philanthropy and their local community. Each participating school, is responsible for directing a £3000 YPI Grant to a local charity through a unique programme of team work, research and competition. Each pupil group in S5 must identify a local charity and prepare a presentation outlining their work and how they would benefit from the £3000. YPI Scotland is all about creativity and passion, leaving the four walls of the classroom behind, and supporting the issues young people care most about. Originating in Canada, YPI is now an international programme and, in 2016/17, is being delivered in 210 secondary schools across Scotland. To date, YPI Scotland has engaged over 135,000 students, providing them with the essential skills and confidence to grant nearly £2million to thousands of local charities. The programme is principally funded and managed in Scotland by The Wood Foundation. As we go into term 2 the pupils will be finalising and delivering their presentations as they compete for a place in the school final at the end of the term. For more information see http://ypiscotland.org.uk/

S6 Leadership Programme This session we have introduced Leadership courses for S6 pupils. In this our pilot year we have put together five different leadership groups across the school involving 35 pupils. Each of these groups have their own agenda and are taking forward a 7-month project which allows them to strengthen the pupil voice within the school by giving the pupils the chance to lead on some new initiatives which have a direct impact on pupils across all year groups. Our five groups are as follows;

Health and Wellbeing Young Leaders – This group is focusing on positive mental health, with a two-tiered approach, one targeting junior pupils and one targeting senior pupils. The project includes the delivery of PSE inserts and the hosting of assemblies and information sharing events.

Sports Ambassadors – This group is trying to promote and encourage involvement in sporting activities both through our inter-house competition calendar and through their planned event for the 2018 Sport Relief day. They are also looking to celebrate success in sports by putting together a display board and recognising the efforts of a ‘Sports Star’ of the month. Rachael Morrison and Niamh Chalmers were Kemnay Academy’s representatives at the Regional conference at the AECC in September. They had the opportunity to mix and share ideas with other Sports Ambassadors and continue extending their leadership skills and qualities. They were lucky enough to meet two inspirational Sports stars – Gemma Faye and Caitlin McClatchey and hear their own stories about the hard work for sporting success. They are now keen to work with Abigail Paterson on their own Sport Relief Project. The other Sports Ambassadors have been busy with their own projects – Ronan Swanson has been leading the organisation & delivery of successful inter-house events with the support of Matthew Dailey, Arran Walters and Eve Smillie. Matthew has also started up an additional extra-curricular club in golf; as a qualified coach, he delivers after school coaching to a small group of interested pupils. Arran and Eve are finalising their own Health Campaign and will be delivering this is the near future.

Sports Leaders – This group is focusing on health and wellbeing and they aim to increase the activity of younger pupils in the school community. They will be running a series of events for primary aged pupils in their own local primary school as well as running events such as the Kemnay Academy sponsored walk and hosting a variety of sports clubs here at the Academy as well.

Charities Leaders – This group of S6 pupils have been working hard to plan and deliver activities to support the school’s chosen charities this year. The group of Beth Elkin, Megan Gibbon, Caitlin Gray, Leanne Harris, Eilidh Morrison and Hannah West are working on paired projects as well as whole school activities; they have delivered assemblies to all pupils outlining the work of Alzheimer’s Scotland, Multiple Sclerosis Society and Riding for the Disabled – Gordon Group (RDA) which are the school’s chosen charities for 2017-18. All pupils have had an opportunity to vote for one of these charities to decide how any funds raised will be distributed. We have met with RDA to find out more about their work and how we can support them and the group will have a stall at Parents’ Evenings to share information about the charities and the group’s work with parents. We have run our 1st fund-raising activity of ‘Guess the Most Popular Girl’s and Boy’s Name of Pupils’ – Jay Beattie was lucky enough to win the £20 Union Square voucher! The group are busy planning a week of activities for ‘Children-in-Need’ starting on Monday 13th November – for small donations pupils can enter a range of activities including: ‘Guess the Amount of Sweets in the Jar’, a Bake-Off competition, staff v pupils football tournament, ‘Guess the Giant Teddy’s Birthday’ and a themed dress-down day where pupils can come to school on Friday 17th November as their favourite movie character for a donation of £1 – alternatively pupils can wear their own clothes! As we are becoming more of a cash-less community we would very much appreciate cash support for the fund-raising activities outlined above and appreciate any support from parents.

Sustainability Leaders – This group are working to promote sustainability across the school. They are leading the Eco-Schools programme which includes the running of an Eco-committee with focused projects on topics such as litter, improving the school grounds and biodiversity as they strive the achieve the Green Flag for Kemnay Academy.

In addition, each pupil involved in the programme has been completing a Leadership theory course with Miss Arthur, where they have been looking at what makes a good leader, considering different leadership styles and approaches, and reflecting on their own capacity for leadership. Each pupil has been able to identify their own strengths and areas for development and have carved out opportunities within their project, where they can work on developing these skills further over the course of the next few months. If successful in this programme, each pupil will achieve a SCQF level 5 SQA award in Leadership. With the theory course almost complete it will be time to focus on the project work as we go into term two and I know you will join us in wishing them well with it.

S6 UCAS/College/Apprenticeship Personal Statements S6 have been working towards their personal statement for applications for University, college and apprenticeships. The focus this term has been on paragraph 1 – ‘why you want to apply for the course or the apprenticeship’. Pupils have been looking at their personal qualities and skills and how these link with the courses they are applying for. They have also been focusing on the skills they have gained from school and beyond and linking these to the courses they wish to apply for. The UCAS website has a huge amount of information which will help with personal statements not just for university, for college and apprenticeships also. Next term the focus will be on completing the statement with hobbies and interests, part time work, relevant work experience and other relevant information. The statement should be no more than 4000 characters. Useful websites – www.ucas.com and www.myworldofwork.co.uk

The Global Goals Group - 'The World's Largest Lesson' Kemnay Academy Global Goals Group is back this term and their mission to raise awareness for 'The World's Largest Lesson'. This is a worldwide campaign which aims to spread the word about what the Global Goals and what they aim to achieve. Our Global Goals Groups is promoting the 'The World's Largest Lesson' by running an inter-house competition, where pupils are asked to create a Birthday Card celebrating the Global Goals 2nd Birthday. Each card submitted will earn point for the House. It is hoped that this competition will get more pupils talking about the Global Goals and make them more aware of what the Goals are.

Kemnay Academy Christmas Fayre 2017 11:00am – 3:00pm on Saturday 2nd December 2017 Plans are well under way for the 2017 Kemnay Academy Charities Group Christmas Fayre. Entry is FREE and further information is available on the school website and Facebook page. So far, we have loads of stalls confirmed as well as face painting and henna tattoos. Please save the date and we look forward to seeing you there – all money raised will go towards our chosen charities for this year. If you are interested in having a stall at the Fayre or donating a raffle prize please contact the school office or Lindsay Salvage, Faculty Head for Health & Wellbeing for details.

Important Dates:

TERM 2

30 October Start of Term 2 10 November S2 Interim Reports Issued 13 November In Service Closure TERM 3 14 November In Service Closure 8 January 2018 Start of Term 3 15 November Careers Fair 11 January S2 into S3 Info Evening 22 November S4 Reports Issued 16 January S2 Parents Evening 2 December Christmas Fair 18-26 January S4/5/6 Prelims 5 December S5/6 Reports Issued 25 January S3 Parents Evening 13 December KAMA Christmas Concert 29 January S4 Work Experience Week 19 December S1 Interim Reports Issued 3-10 February S2 Ski Trip 22 December Whole School Ceilidh 9 February Occasional Holiday 22 December End of Term 2 12 February Mid Term Holiday 13 February In-Service Closure 14 February In-Service Closure 15 February Senior Phase Info Evening 22 February S4 Parents’ Evening 28 February S5/6 Parents’ Evening 29 March Senior Prom 29 March Last Day of Term 30 March Holiday – Good Friday

TERM 4 16 April Start of Term 4 7 May May Day Holiday 8 May S2 Reports Issued 1 June S1 Reports Issued 4 June Occasional Holiday 5 June S5/6 induction 5 June Start of New Timetable

19 June KAMA Summer Concert 20 June S1/2/3 Awards Ceremony 21 June S4/5/6 Awards Ceremony 30 June End of Term 4 27-29 June P7 Link Days 6 July End of Term

Details of term dates until 2020 are available on Aberdeenshire Council’s website on: http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/schools/inf ormation/term_dates.asp.

ATTENTION S5/6 PUPILS · Do you have used study guides and past papers books lying around, gathering dust in your room NEVER TO BE USED AGAIN? · Would you like to GET SOME MONEY FOR THEM?

· The Interact Group would like to help you TURN THOSE OLD BOOKS INTO CASH! We are organising a second-hand book stall and will sell your books onto pupils who can use them – we will donate 20% of the sale price to Roxburgh House in Aberdeen. You will receive the other 80%. Books can be handed in to Interact Group members in Mr Millar’s ASFL Office any morning interval until the 10th of November 2017. RECYCLE, MAKE MONEY & HELP PEOPLE WITH LIFE LIMITING ILLNESSES

Did you know Kemnay Academy has a Facebook page? Like us at to be among the first to find out what is going on at Kemnay Academy.

• Pictures and updates from activities and trips. • Reminders about Parents’ Evenings • Celebrating our pupils’ successes both in and out of school. • The easiest place to get the most up to date information.

www.facebook.com/kemnayacademy